Art and Auction: Alan Turing’s Hidden Manuscript

Kiera Knightley and Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game, which tells the story of Alan Turing (Photo Courtesy The Weinstein Company)

British mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing composed a key handwritten scientific document, which is expected to sell for at least seven figures at Bonhams Fine Books & Manuscripts in New York on April 13. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to charity.

Turing’s manuscript consists of 56 pages in a simple handwritten notebook, bought from a stationer in Cambridge, UK. It dates from 1942, when Turing was working at Bletchley Park to break the German Enigma Code.

Photo of a page in Turing’s manuscript (Photo Courtesy Bonhams)

“The mathematical content of the manuscript gives an extraordinary insight into the working mind of one of the greatest luminaries of the 20th century. This is one of the most extraordinary pieces I have ever had the privilege to handle,” said Cassandra Hatton, Senior Specialist in Fine Books and Manuscripts and the History of Science at Bonhams – one of the world’s largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques.